Calgarians living in Ward 7 seem to use 311 more often than any other Wards complaining about everything under the sun in Calgary,Alta on Sunday November 3, 2013. Darren Makowichuk/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency

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Ask and ye shall receive — and in Calgary at least, it’s the inner city doing most of the asking.

That’s according to the most recent tally of Calgary’s 311 calls for 2013, with Wards 7, 9 and 8 consistently leading the pack in requests for city services, be it bylaw enforcement or sewer repairs.

It’s not a close race either — not when Ward 7 residents are placing three calls for every one made in Ward 13, where demand is the least.

“This why we have to get away from this whole idea that the suburbs are draining the inner city,” said Coun. Shane Keating.

“I don’t think it’s the case, and each area is distinct and has requirements, and the city as a whole must learn to support each area’s specific and unique requirements, not single each area out.”

The list of requests includes everything from bylaw enforcement for neighbourhood disputes, to park maintenance, sewer blockages, animal licenses, building inspections and so forth — pretty much any request for city service, barring fire and police, is included.

There’s no price tag on the calls — some, like requesting a tax form, are nominal, while others, like demanding investigation of a neighbour noise complaint, are labour intensive.

But the tally gives Calgarians a general sense of where city hall is spending a lot of Calgary’s cash.

Led by inner city neighbourhoods like The Beltline, Hillhurst and Renfrew, the same three wards have dominated demand for city time and resources since at least Sept. 2011.

That’s how far back the 311 Service Request study dates, and without exception, it’s always Ward 7 leading, closely followed by 9 and 8.

The least demanding tend to be 13, 14 and 2 — all wards considered suburban, and featuring neighbourhoods critics have condemned as part of Calgary’s sprawl.

If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, in Calgary at least, there’s a glut of that grease being served up to the inner city.

Coun. Druh Farrell says the numbers are no surprise at city hall, where it’s well known Ward 7 is a high-demand zone, despite having a population in line with the other wards.

“It comes as no surprise — we know we’re the busiest, in some cases by double and even triple,” said Farrell.

She says the frequency of dials to 311 speaks to the challenges of the rapidly-changing inner city, as well as citizens who really care about where they live.

“Very engaged citizens, lots of redevelopment, aging infrastructure — all of that combines,” she said.

All sound reasons — and it’s likely no one would take issue with a high-maintenance inner city at all, if the recent election hadn’t been so anti-suburb in flavour.

It was the cornerstone of Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s re-election strategy, to paint Calgary’s far-flung suburbs as a cash-devouring drain on city resources — and that’s left some councillors and constituents feeling bitter.

“We spend more money on parks and roads and all kinds of things in the inner city, and I have no problem with that,” said Coun. Keating, who represents Ward 12.

“The problem is where we try and compare the different areas of the city and say one should be stopped — it’s the sustainability of the whole that we need to consider.”

Nenshi claims infrastructure to a new home costs the city $4,800 more than developers are currently paying, and he wants to charge more to cover the difference.

Of course, it’s no secret the mayor and a few others on council are anti-sprawl, and that levy would amount to an extra tax on new suburbs — thus encouraging inner city development.

But then statistics like these appear, and those living far from the core see it as the ammo they need to fire back.

“This is an excellent counter-argument to those claims that growth doesn’t pay for itself, that it requires more city resources, and so on,” said Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart, whose Ward 13 is by far the least demanding of city services.